Book Info
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Paperback224 pages
Author's Website
www.hilarymckay.co.uk/Publisher
Hachette Children's BooksSuitable for Ages
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Publication date
3rd September 2009ISBN
9780340989043Children's Author 'Like-for-Like' recommendations
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Saffy's Angel
Hilary Mckay
Part of the 'Casson Family' Series
This title is in stock
Lovereading4kids Price: £4.49
RRP: £5.99 Saving £1.50 (25%)
The Lovereading comment:
Our March 2012 Guest Editor Sally Nicholls: "I've never written a fan letter to an author, but I came closest after finishing Saffy's Angel. I read it while I was first trying to be a writer myself, and I decided right there that I wanted to be an writer like Hilary McKay. I love how effortlessly funny her books are, how appealing her characters are, despite their flaws."
The Lovereading comment:
Saffy's Angel really deserves the top honours. This heavenly little book tells the story of Cadmium, Saffron, Indigo and Rose, siblings who are each as colourful as their exotic names suggest. Saffy's Angel is written with a simple, understated elegance that allows the reader access to the kind of family we would all, secretly, love to belong to. Each character is drawn with an enviable artistry coupled with, one suspects, a tongue-in the cheek that adds a sharp realistic air to a modern household with a heart of pure, old-fashioned gold. And it is these fabulous characters who lead the unfurling of the story, easing the reader through the pages with an irresistible wit and warmth that smartly avoids cosiness but nonetheless leaves a soothing rosy glow. Hilary’s real strength lies in her understanding of young people and her ability to evoke them very simply.
Synopsis
Saffy's Angel by Hilary MckayAfter Saffron Casson discovers that she's adopted, life is never quite the same again. Her artistic parents and doting siblings adore her, but Saffy wants a piece of her past. So when her grandfather bequests a stone angel to her, Saffy knows she has to find it.
Realising that her childhood in Siena holds the key, she secretly stows away on a car trip to Italy, with her new friend, Sarah. Meanwhile, the rest of her family are engaged in their own wacky projects. Caddy, a hopeless student, is studying for her A Levels and desperately trying to pass her driving test.
Indigo, the sole boy of the Casson family, is determined to rid himself of this fear of heights. And the youngest, Rose, a budding artist, has a knack for baiting her pompous dad, with entertaining results ...
Reviews
'Will leave you smiling.'Write Away
'Quirky and curious ... unforgettable. The central characters are strong, lovable - and unique.'
Nic Knight, THE BOOKSELLER
'A real feel-good novel, McKay treats us once again to one of her brilliantly characterised families. This is a really lovely book.'
THE BOOKSELLER
'A funny, exuberant story.'
CAROUSEL
' ... tale that is both funny and touching.'
The Guardian 20011128
'Hilary McKay excels in conveying the anarchic bedlam of family life ... deserves to be placed alongside such classics as Little Women and The Railway Children.'
TES Primary 20011201
'Saffy's Angel is a delight from start to finish ... a great feel-good book with characters you want to stay with for ever. Warm, beautifully crafted and always original, it's pure fun - a book to recommend without hesitation.'
Whitbread Judges, as reported in Daily Mail 20030310
'... one of the best series ever written.'
Guardian 20110608 This book truly is a masterpiece
. -- Guardian 20110608
About The Author
Hilary McKay won the Guardian Children's Award with her first novel, The Exiles. Her subsequent work has achieved similar recognition - The Exiles at Home won the Smarties Prize and Saffy's Angel won the Whitbread. A graduate of Botany and Zoology from St Andrews University, Hilary now writes full-time. She lives in Derbyshire with her husband and two children.
You can read her character Rose Casson's blog by clicking here - and Rose's tweets on the right hand side of this page.
Q & A with Hilary Mckay
What is your earliest childhood memory?
Watching steam trains with my grandfather. He died before I was two years
old, so that is a very early memory.
If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?
Well, who could turn down the gift of flight? Or travel without luggage? Or a
life spent following the sun? Without doubt, I would be a swallow. I realise this
means a lifetime of eating flies, but I think it would be worth it.
What is your dream holiday destination?
I would start at the Sangre de Cristo mountains in New Mexico and travel South
through Central America, along the coast to Peru, then down through Chile
across to the Falklands and on to Antarctica, which I would circumnavigate.
Then I would travel North to New Zealand where I would spend a long time
warming up and then across to Australia. I would spend quite a long time in
Sydney and go up into the Blue Mountains (I might go sapphire hunting there)
and then to the Great Barrier Reef (of course).
That would be far enough for me.
What is your morning routine?
Alas, I do not have a morning routine.
If you could have one special talent, what would it be?
Singing, undoubtedly. That would make me the happiest. But I have a friend
whose talent is languages and I envy that one very much.
Likes: Millions of things! Books, cats, honey, letters from readers (hint, hint), real music, apples, swimming in cold water, chocolate coated ginger biscuits, trees.
Dislikes: Putting things away, litter, loud TV, hot rooms, being told what to think.
3 words that best descibe me: Untidy, happy, hopeful!
A Secret that not many people know: I am a VERY slow reader!
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